Filing system



May 28, 1935. M KEP A 2,003,202

FILING SYSTEM Y Filed Jan. 2'7, 19525 1 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 b 1 1 5115.41

' Jamesflliiflar May 28, 1935. J. M. KEPLAR 2,003,202

FILING SYSTEM Filed Jan. 27, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet '2 22 a U 2; 31 a2 22 5 L 13/591} l g May 28, 1935. J. M. KEPLAR FILING SYSTEM Filed Jan. 27; 1955 s Sheets-Sheet s lfglla gave/Wm eTamesMIffZar Patented May 28, 1935 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlC FILING SYSTEM 7 7 15 Claims.

This invention relates to a filing system, and more particularly has reference to a means for mounting cards or sheets of paper-in overlapping relation in a filing system in order that a marginal portion of each card or sheet of paper may be exposed for index purposes.

One object of this invention is therefore to provide a filing system including a plurality of index cards and a holder having novel coacting means for removably supporting the cards in overlapping relation thereon.

Another object of this invention is to provide a filing system including a plurality of index cards, and a holder consisting of a plurality of metal or fibrous strips, which when placed together form a novel coacting means for supporting the cards in overlapping relation thereon, and which will permit of their ready removal or interchange for the usual purposes.

Another object of this invention isto provide a filing system of the aforesaid type in which each card is provided adjacent its top edge with ahinge line to enable it to be bent along a definite predetermined substantially straight line.

Another object of this invention is to provide a filing system of the type above mentioned in which each card in a. row of cards is held in place on the holder by the card above it, and in which only the top card is held in place by a separate means provided for that purpose.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, but it is to be distinctly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken as in any way limiting the scope of this invention. This invention is to be limited in its scope only by the prior art and by the terms of the appended claims.

, Referring now more particularly to the drawings in which like numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout:

Figure 1 is a front view partly broken away illustrating one embodiment of this invention.

Figure 2 is a detailed view illustrating a portion of the arrangement illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a detailed view similar to Figure 2, but illustrating only the holder which is shown in Figure 1. V

Figure 4 is a cross-section of Figure 1 taken along the line 4-4 thereof. r

Figure 5 is a view illustrating a modified form of holder.

Figure 6 is a view illustrating another modified form. i

. Figure 7 is a section taken along the line 7-1 of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of one'of the parts of Figure 6.

Figure 9 is a section taken along the line 9-9 5 In the drawings the numeral l indicates the holder member which has been provided for mounting the cards in accordance with this invention. The numeral 2 is used to indicate the cards adapted to be mounted upon the holder 1 in a manner to be described for the'purpos'e' of carrying out the objects of this invention. As illustrated in Figures 1 and 3, the holder is provided with two longitudinal rows of tabs 3 for the purpose of receiving and. holding the cards 2. The holder isalso provided along the line which is to be the position of the upper edge of the top card with a plurality of small tabs or slitted-out portions 4 for the purpose of engaging the upper edge of the top card and preventing it from being displaced from the holder" as will hereinafter be set forth. The tabs 3 may each be crimped or scored adjacent their upper ends as at 5, forthe purpose of enabling the cards to be more easily engaged therer with. The holder may also be provided at one 35. edge with a plurality of holes 6 or other suitable formation for enabling them to be bound in a loose leaf binder. If holes such as shown at 6 in the drawings are used for this purpose, they are preferably reinforced by means such as the 40 reinforcing rings 1 secured thereto in any convenient manner.

' As clearly shown in the drawings, the tabs 3 and the tabs 4 are each formed by cutting through the material of the holder and bending them outward to'a slight degree so as to' make it possible to engage the cards therewith. "The scoring as shown at 5, causes the outer ends-of each of the tabs or tongues 3 to stick upwardly or outwardly away from the holder to a slight degree, thus enabling the cards to be more easily placed thereon. As will be seen also, each of the tabs or tongues 3 extends upwardly towards the top edge of the holder, whereas the tabs 4 extend downwardly. V

Now with respect to the cards 2, these cards are provided adjacent their upper edges with openings 8, which are preferably of a triangular or other convenient shape having a straight-line top. The straight line tops of the openings 8 are in each instance spaced from the tops of the cards by a margin equal to the distance of one of the tabs 3 from the next successive tab. Thus, beginning at the bottom of a holder it will be seen that when a card is placed with its opening over the bottom tab or'one of the intermediate tabs, its upper edge will lie directly against the lower extremity of the next tab above. It follows that when the next card is placed on the next succeeding tab, it will bear against the upper edge of the previous card, and willserve to prevent the previous card from being displaced from its tab. As illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the top card, which is the last card to be placed on the holder, has its upper edge engaged with the tabs 4, so that it cannot be removed from its tab.

In order to provide for the hinging of the cards adjacent their lines of attachment to the holder, there is provided a series of slots 9 adjacent the upper edge of each card. As is clearly illustrated in Figure 2, these slots 9 are provided with V-shaped ends I0 and it is noted that the pointed ends of all the slots lie on the same straight line. It will be appreciated that this arrangement provides a weakened line along which there is the least resistance to bending, and consequently when the card is lifted upwardly after being placed in position on the holder, it will bendalong this line only instead of bending along some other line. The line will be very close to a straight line because it will naturally follow the line of least resistance so, sharply defined by the V-shaped ends of the slots. The line will also be spaced from both the upper and lower sides of the slots and the sides of the slots will be prevented from causing the line of bending to deviate one way or the other.

Attention is called to the fact that the straight line of least resistance I I which is formed by the slots 9 withtheir V -shaped ends ID is on each card a very small distance below the straight top edge of the openings 8. This means that the line of bending of each card will be slightly below the lower portion of each of the tabs3. Since each of the intermediate cards has its upper edge lying closely adjacent the lower portion of the tab 3 next above it, it will therefore be seen that the line of bending of one card will lie slightly below the upper edge of the next card. Thus even when a card is bent along its line II of least resistance, it will still extend down over the upper edge of the next card and thus maintain-its position. The factthat this line I I is so sharply defined by the V-shaped ends II) of the slots 9 enables this distance between the line II and the upper straight edges of the openings 8 to be made very small. This condition just described is more clearly illustrated in Figure 2, wherein the numeral I2 is used to indicate the upper edge of the card just below the one shown, this upper'edge being shown to be very slightly above the line II. The lower cards are thus held firmly in place on the holder, but if slightly strained so as to first slip its upper edgeout from under the card above, any card may be removed without disturbing any other card on the holder.

When the cards 2 are of such size as to be quite wide, it is sometimes desirableto cut away the upper corners of the cards as illustrated at I3 for the purpose of making the hinge line a little Weaker and more flexible. The amount of cutting away must of necessity be determined by the particular design in each instance.

It will be noted from Figures 1, 3 and 4 that some of the cards are adapted to be spaced further apart on the holder than the others. This spacing may of course be arranged as desired, it being understood that where the tabs are placed further apart as at I4 in order to enable the cards to have a greater margin showing, the cards must likewise be provided with a corresponding margin at the top so that the upper edge of each card will engage the lower portion of the next tab.

In Figure 5, I have illustrated a modified form of holder, the same being composed of a plurality of strips of metal or like material I5, I6 and I1, these strips being bound together at their ends by binding strips I8 to form a unitary holding memher. The upper strip of metal I5 is provided with a tab I9 corresponding to the tab 4 in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive. Likewise, the metal strips I6 and II are provided with upwardly extending tabs 20 'corresponding to the tabs 3 of the form shown in Figures l to 4 inclusive. It will be readily apparent that a holder such as the one shown in Figure 5 maybe preferable in cases where considerable.

strength and rigidity are required in the holder member.

In Figure 6 is shown another modified form of holder which is formed of light metal or similar material. In this form a channel member or subholder 2I is formed with its edges bent upand over as shown at 22 to form a retaining means'for the metal strips 23 and 24. The channel member 2I is also bent up and over at the top as shown at 25 to form. a stop against which the uppermost of the strips 23 abuts. The bent-over portion 25 is slitted or stamped out at 26 to form an elongated tab 21' adapted to serve the same purpose as the tabs 4 and I9 previously described.

The strips 23 and 24 are each formed as illustrated in Figures 8 and 9. Each is in the form of an inverted channel member having an upper flat surface 28 and downwardly extending sides 29 and 30. Punched out from the fiat surface 28 are a plurality of triangular-shaped tabs 3| having their bases adjacent one of the sides 33. The apices of these tabs 3I extend toward the opposite side 29 and have their free corners bent outward slightly as at 32 so that the cards might be more easily engaged therewith. The strips 23 and 24 are identical except that the strips 24 have their upper surfaces 28 of greater'width than strips 23.

The parts are so made that the strips 23 and 24 may be removed from or inserted into the subholder 2I by moving one end of the lowest strip down until it is disengaged from the bent-over portion 22 after which the other end may be withdrawn and the strip removed. The insertion is a mere reversal of this process.

- For the purpose of preventing the strips 23 and 24 from being accidentally disengaged from the member 2I, there are provided a pair of removable stops 33 adapted to engage the bent-over portions 22 of the sub-holder 2I and bear against the lower-side of the lowermost strip 24 as shown.

In the structure shown in Figures 10 to 13 inclusive the arrangement is somewhat different, the

holder 34 being provided with slots 35 for the pur pose of receiving the ears or tabs 36 of each card 31 to secure the cards to the holder. The cards 31;

38 having V-shaped ends 39 determining sharply a hinge line 40. The end slots 4| are so positioned with respect to the side edges of the cards that one of the ends of each is open, thus forming the ears or tabs 36 previously referred to. These cards 31 are also preferably provided with openings S2 identical with the openings 8 in cards 2, whereby, if desired, the cards 37 may be applied to the holders shown in Figures 1 to 9. The slots 35 in the holder 34 are slantingly positioned and arranged in rows as shown in Figure I 2, and are of exactly the proper length to receive the portions 36 of the cards; Also, it is to be noted that these slots are so positioned that the hinge line of one card will not overlie but will just come to the top of the next card below, thus making removal of the cards much easier.

It will be seen from the above that there has been provided an arrangement for carrying out the objects or" this invention as heretofore expressed.

It will further be seen that there has been provided a filing system comprising a holder and a plurality of cards having interengaging parts so that the cards might be placed on the holder and firmly secured in place, and in which the cards may be bent along hinge lines provided for the purpose to allow each individual card to be inspected as desired.

It will further be apparent that a novel means of attaching the cards to the holder has been provided, for causing the cards to hinge or crease sharply along a definitely and sharply predetermined line.

Having described my invention, I claim:--

1. In a filing system, a holder of fiat formation having a plurality of spaced rows of tabs, the free ends of said tabs'extending toward one edge of said holder, said holder also having a tab between said edge of the holder and the nearest of said first-mentioned tabs, the free end of said second-mentioned tab extending in a direction opposite to thedirection of the free ends of the first-mentioned tabs, a card supported on said holder, said card having its upper edge inserted beneath said second-mentioned tab, said card being slotted in spaced relation to its upper edge for receiving the nearest tab in each of said spaced rows of tabs, and said card being transversely weakened to provide a hinge with a line of bend between the slots for receiving the said tabs, a second card supported on said holder, said second card being slotted in spaced relation to its upper edge for receiving the next corresponding tab in each of said spaced rows of tabs, and having its upper edge extending beneath said first-mentioned card to a position above said line of bend whereby said second-mentioned card will be held in place on its tabs by the overlapping of the portion of said first-mentioned card below the upper edge of said second mentioned card.

2. In a filing system, a holder of flat formation having a plurality of spaced rows of tabs, the free ends of said tabs extending toward one edge of said holder, said holder also having a tab between said edge of the holder and the nearest of said first-mentioned tabs, the free end of said second-mentioned tab extending in a direction opposite to the direction of the free ends of the first-mentioned tabs, a card supported on said holder, said card having its upper edge inserted beneath said second-mentioned tab, said card being slotted in spaced relation to its upper edge for receiving the nearest tab in each of said spaced rows of tabs, and said card having a row of slots with V-shaped ends extending transversely thereof to provide ahinge with adefinitely and sharply predetermined line of bend below the upper edges of the line of slots for receiving the said tabs,' and a second card supported on said holder, said second card being slotted in spaced relation to its upper edge for receiving the next corresponding tabs of said rows of tabs, said secand card having its upper edge extending upwardly underneath said first card to lie slightly above the sharply defined line of bending of said first card, whereby said first card will serve to main tain said second card in position on the holder.

3. Ina filing system, a holder of fiat forma-- tion having a plurality of slits providing a plurality of tabs arranged in vertical rows with the tabs of the respective rows horizontally aligned, and a card supported on'said holder, said card being slotted in spaced relation to its upper edge for receiving a plurality of said horizontally aligned tabs, and said card being weakened on a transverse line to providea hinge between said slots for receiving the tabs, the distance between the upper edge of of said slots being equal'to the distance between the adjacent tabs in the respective vertical rows. 4.'In a filing system, a holder of fiat formation having a plurality 'of slits providing a plurality of tabs arranged in vertical rows with the tabs of the respective rows horizontally aligned, said holder having a plurality of tabs spaced from the ends of said first-mentioned rows of tabs and directed oppositely thereto, a card supported on said holder, said card being slotted in spaced relation to its upper edge for receiving a plurality of said horizontally aligned tabs, and the upper edge of said card being engaged by said oppositely directed tabs whereby an upper portion of said card'is fixed in position on said holder, a second card similar to the first supported on said holder, said second card being slotted in spaced relation to its upper edge for receiving the horizontally aligned tabs adjacent the tabs received by the slots in said first-mentioned card, and the upper edge of said second-mentioned card extending upwardly beneath the fixed portion of said first-mentioned card whereby it is maintained in position by said first-mentioned card,-

said first-mentioned card being weakened on a transverse line spaced slightly below the upper edge of said second-mentioned card to provide a hinge.

5. In a filing system, a holder having spaced securing tabs, and a plurality of cards of uniform size supported on said holder, said cards having slots "for receiving said spaced tabs, said slots being spaced from the upper edges of said cards by a distance equal to the distance between said spaced tabs, said cards also being each provided with a row of slots arranged in a straight line transversely thereof, said slots having substantially parallel sides and V-shaped ends, the vertices of the V-shaped ends being arranged in a straight transverse line, whereby a transverse line of least resistance will be formed across said card to provide a sharply defined hinge line.

6. In a filing system, a card having a plurality of slots adapted to receive securing tabs to secure the card on a holder and said card being also provided with a row of slots arranged in a straight line transversely thereof, said slots being provided with substantially parallel sides and V-shaped ends, the vertices of said V-shaped ends being arranged ina straight line, whereby a transverse line of least resistance will be formed across said said-card and theupper edges straight line, whereby a line sides against which such card to provide a hinge that will bend along a predetermined sharply defined line. p

'7. In a filing system, a card having a row of slots arranged in a straight line transversely thereof, said slots being provided with substantially parallel sides and V-shaped ends, the vertices of said V-shaped ends being arranged in a straight line, whereby a transverse line of least resistance will be formed across said card, said card being also provided with slots adapted to receive securing tabs to secure the card on a holder, said second-mentioned slots having straight line sides against which such tabs are adapted to rest.

8. In a filing system, a card having a row of slots arranged in a straight line transversely thereof, said slots being provided with substantially parallel sides and V-shaped ends, the vertices of said V-shaped ends being arranged in a transverse line of least resistance will be formed across said card, said card being also provided with slots adapted to receive securing tabs to secure the card on a holder, said second-mentioned slotshaving straight tabs are adapted to rest, and such straight line sides being spaced from the said line of least resistance. 7

9. In a filing system, a card having a part adapted to engage and be secured to a holder 1 and said card also having a plurality of slots arranged in 'a straight line transversely thereof, said slots being provided with V-shaped ends the vertices of which are arranged in a straight line between the top and bottom sides of said slots and spaced from said sides, whereby a sharply defined line of least resistance to bending is formed transversely of the card, so that when a force is applied to said card tending to bend the same, it will bend along said sharply defined line.

10. In a filing system, a holder member of fiat formation, and a plurality of overlapping card members supported on said holder, said holder and card members having interengaging slots and tabs for supporting said card members on said holder member, and said card members being weakened on a transverse line to provide a hinge below the line of contact between said tabs and slots, and each lower card member having a part extending upwardly beneath the card above to the hinge line of the card above.

11. In a filing system, a holder of flat formation having a plurality of slots'arranged in vertical rows with the slots of the respective rows horizontally aligned, and a plurality of cards supported on said holder, said cards each having oppositely extending ears adjacent its upper edge adapted to engage said horizontally aligned slots, and said cards each being weakened on a transverse line to provide a hinge, and each lower card having a part extending upwardly beneath the card above to the hinge line of the card above.

12. In a filing system, a holder of flat formation having a plurality of slots arranged in vertical rows with the slots of the respective rows horizontally aligned and having their upper ends inclined toward each other, each lower slot extending upwardly to a point in alignment with the lower end of the slot above, and a plurality of cards supported on said holder, each card having oppositely extending ears adjacent its upper edge adapted to engage horizontally aligned slots, and being slotted along a transverse line below said slots to provide a hinge, said slots being formed with V-shaped ends the apices of which are arranged in a straight line, whereby the card will be caused to bend along a sharply defined line of least resistance.

13. In a filing system, a holder comprising a channel-shaped metal-like retaining member having its side edges and one end bent up and over to form retaining means, a plurality of channel-shaped metal-like strips disposed side by side transversely of said channel-shaped retaining member and having their ends in engagement with said retaining means, said strips each having a plurality of slits providing a plurality of tabs on the exposed face thereof, and removable means for clamping said strips together and against said bent up end or the holder.

14. In a filing system a card having a part adapted to engage and be secured to a holder, said card being formed with a plurality of endwise opposed spaced slots disposed in a straight row transversely thereof, the end walls of each of said slots being of outwardly directed V- shaped contour, said row of slots being located in proximity to an edge of the card, the vertices of the end walls of the slots being arranged in the plane of the longitudinal medians of the slots to provide a sharply defined straight line of least resistance to bending transversely of the card whereby when a force is applied to the card to bend it the card will bend upon said sharply defined straight line and the bend will form a hinge for and to permit of that part of the card extending from said line to an edge of the card opposing the said other edge to be freely moved away from the holder.

15. In a filing system, a holder, a set of cards positioned one against the other, the upper ends of the outer cards of the set extending beyond the upper ends of the inner cards of the set, the lower ends of the inner cards of the set extending beyond the lower ends of the outer cards of the set, said holder being formed with means for connecting the cards thereto, each of said cards being formed with a spaced slots disposed in a straight row transversely thereof, the end walls of each of said slots being of outwardly directed V-shaped contour, said row of slots being located in proximity to the upper end edge of the card, the vertices of the end walls of the slots being arranged in the plane of the longitudinal medians of the slots to provide a sharply defined straight line of least resistance to bending transversely of the card whereby when a force is applied to the card to bend it the card will bend upon said sharply defined straight line and the bend will form a hinge for and to permit of that part of the card extending from said line to the outer end edge of the card to be freely moved away from the holder.

JAMES M. KEPLAR.

plurality of endwise opposed 

